All classes, kindergarten through Grade 9, remain cancelled until further notice.

On March 17, the Government of Alberta declared a public health emergency. All Alberta classes, kindergarten through grade 12, remain cancelled until further notice. As a result, we are providing you with the following information:

New Horizons School Response

To help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, observing personal hygiene and social distancing recommendations, we have staff members working from home and at the school. Although classes are cancelled, our office remains open for phone and email communications only. Parents and students will not be permitted to enter the building unless prior arrangements for resource and/or personal belongings pick-up have been made. I believe that many parents picked up their children’s belongings yesterday and today, but if you missed this opportunity, please contact the school.

Staff members and our contracted cleaning service have begun a thorough cleaning and sanitizing of all areas in the school and those efforts will continue.

At Home Learning

Staff are preparing for the start-up of at-home learning with a tentative start date of Monday, March 23 and the program offered by our teachers to your children will reflect the guidelines established by the Minister. More information will be provided by email.

Please note that staff will not be providing programming support during Spring Break, March 27 to April 6, 2020, inclusive.

Access to Technology for At Home Learning

We are pleased our administration and staff have been able to provide Chromebooks to students (Grade 3-9) to assist households with limited technology, and to increase the flexibility with technology access in households. Further information will be provided by the school as necessary.

On-Line Behaviour

The bulk of the communication between older students and their classmates will be digital, and it is important to remind them that respectful on-line behaviour of our students is expected at all times.

The school has communicated that Term II report cards were scheduled to go out on Friday, March 20, 2020. Indefinite class cancellation has delayed their completion and report cards will be emailed to parents the week of March 23 to 26, 2020.

The school office remains open for general inquiries by phone or by email during regular school hours. Other school operation inquiries should be directed to Principal Zarowny at tzarowny@newhorizons.ca.

Due to the volume of messages being sent to staff, administration and district office, we will endeavour to respond within 24-48 hours.

Communication

New Horizons School is also working to add information to the web page that will provide you with easier access to information about cancellation of classes, emails sent to you by the principal or superintendent and other pertinent information about our operations and for links to provincial information about the COVID-19 virus.

We all have a responsibility to help prevent the spread or the COVID-19 virus. We encourage everyone to follow the recommended protocols from Alberta Health.

Thank you for the support you have communicated to our staff and for your patience as we worked to develop the educational programs that will begin shortly.